Although New Orleans Pelicans general manager Dell Demps spent the past few months extensively gathering information on draft prospects, he has not offered any hints who they may select with their sixth overall pick in Thursday night's NBA draft.

Demps also hasn’t ruled out the possibility they could make a draft night trade to gain additional picks or acquire a proven veteran.

"I have to tell you, I have my poker face on,’’ Demps said Tuesday in his final address to the media before the draft. "As they say, loose lips sink ships. It’s just tough to reveal too many things. There’s always that fear that other teams will jump on the Internet, read my quotes and try to beat us to the punch.’’

Unlike a majority of previous drafts, there are no projected franchise-changing players in this year's draft class. There also is no consensus No. 1 pick like last season when the Pelicans selected forward Anthony Davis. The Cleveland Cavaliers hold the No. 1 pick but there is uncertainty if they will select Kentucky center Nerlens Noel or Maryland center Alex Len.

Like the Cavaliers, the Pelicans also appear unsure about drafting for need or taking the best player available.

"Hopefully the best player fits your need,’’ Pelicans Coach Monty Williams said. "All that stuff sounds good. That’s what we say when we’re leading up to the draft. But we’re at a point in the franchise now where we want to get a really good player who fits the need that we have.''

The Pelicans' biggest need appear to be at small forward, but some of their most extensive evaluations involved around players at other positions. Two weeks ago, the Pelicans worked out Burke and Carter-Williams at the Alario Center. On the same day, they also met with Len, who is still recovering from a stress fracture in his left ankle.

Demps traveled to Washington last Friday to get a thorough evaluation of Oladipo, who is projected to be a top-five pick. Demps also said he met with McLemore in New Orleans on Sunday for an interview and had a meeting with Bennett at an undisclosed location.

Some mock drafts have McLemore going no lower than fourth to the Charlotte Bobcats. But McLemore, 6 feet 5, 189 pounds, continues to draw negative attention after reports indicated that he had poorly performed workouts recently with the Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns because he was out of shape. But the Pelicans also interviewed McLemore at the draft combine in Chicago last month.

"We are looking at every option,’’ Demps said. "I don’t know if we get the greatest need in the draft. For us, we want to get a player who will fit. In today’s game a lot of guys are interchangeable, so I don’t know if we can just say want to this position or this guy.

"I think you want to get a piece that can fit in to your system and help you win basketball games.''

Whomever the Pelicans select, they should be able to get a quality player with the No. 6 overall pick, said Ryan Blake, the NBA’s senior director of scouting.

"What I love about this draft is that it’s going to be interesting,’’ Blake said. "I think it’s a deep draft. McLemore can be a Dwyane Wade-type player and I just like him because he can shoot over people has the potential to be great. Burke is a competitor.’’

After getting their first extended look at Burke during a workout at the Alario Center, Williams said Burke could add speed to their team. Burke was named the national player of the year after leading the Wolverines to the Final Four for the first time since the 1993 Fab Five team led by Chris Webber.

Burke set the single-season record at Michigan for assists with 260 this past season. He also made 38.4 percent of his attempts from 3-point range and averaged 18.6 points last season as a sophomore.

"He’s a point guard that can score the ball and he’s got really good vision,’’ Williams said. "He’s put on some muscle and certainly he can add some speed to our team, but you don’t know how that’s going to translate yet because they’re so young.’’

Several mock drafts have the Pelicans taking Burke but there’s no guarantee he will be still be on the draft board when they select. Some mock drafts have Burke going as high as second to the Orlando Magic and as low as eighth to the Detroit Pistons.

"We don’t know who is going to be there at six,’’ Demps said. "There’s a chance it’s be a guy that can help us right away or there’s a chance it’ll be a guy that us down the line.

``You want to make sure, with Anthony and the remainder of the core guys, you try not to duplicate and you try to get players that can complement each other.’’